Red, Red Rose
by Sammy David
Summary: Rose Weasley begins her first year at Hogwarts with a heart filled with trepidation, hope, dreams, and determination. What she hadn't expected was to strike up an unlikely friendship with Scorpius Malfoy, the only son of the controversial Malfoy family. Their friendship causes clashes between her and James, but Albus lends his unexpected support. RosexScorpius, Canon Pairings.
1. Chapter One : A New Generation

Rose Weasley was leaning against the window of the scarlet, smoky Hogwarts Express, watching her breath fog the window, fade away, fog the window, fade away as she breathed. She hadn't changed her position since she had pressed her face against the window to catch a last glimpse of her family before they curved out of sight. Only she and her cousin Al were in the compartment. Had James been with them, the two of them wouldn't still be sitting in a thoughtful silence, reflecting on the families they'd left behind, and the new chapter in their lives they were speeding towards through the London suburbs. Eventually, they left London, and progressed into the countryside. There were pastures so green that they looked like illustrations from a book-an artist's ideal green, with no wilting browns and yellows. She wondered why the Hogwarts Express didn't pass through wizarding villages. Looking out of the window would be much more interesting then.

Albus opened his mouth to say something, but James chose that moment to slide the door open in his usual, noisy fashion, and fall into the compartment with about five other boys. "Did you buy any food from the trolley?" he asked breathlessly, flinging himself into the seat beside Al. "The trolley hasn't come this way yet," said Al. "James, we've been on the train for-" Rose checked her watch-"Fifteen minutes. Dont tell me you're hungry already!" James sat up straight, trying to look dignified. "When you've been Sorted, you actually start enjoying the train rides." he said. Rose flinched. He'd hit a sore spot. She looked at Al, who had been more nervous than her about the Sorting in the months leading up to September the First. He looked surprisingly serene. "So, Al, what if you're in Slytherin?" asked James mischievously, going back to his favourite taunt. His friends sniggered. "Ah, it's alright," he said, surprising everyone, "Slytherin House would have gained a good student, then, wouldn't it?" Seeing that everybody's jaws had fallen open, Al quickly amended, "But I'd much rather be in Gryffindor."

When the backdrop grew dark blue, the trees black, and the air nippy, the Hogwarts Express chugged more lethargically, until it finally stopped, as did Rose's heart. "We're here!" exclaimed Albus, straining to see the castle through the window. Peering out of the window herself, Rose immediately saw the ancient, candle-lit castle across a black lake, which had only the perfectly round, white moon positioned in the centre. The castle spoke of hundreds of years of students gone by, hundreds of spells cast, hundreds of secrets of magic passed on. It stood still, beckoning to them. "Let's go," said Rose, standing up. Al looked a little green as he stood up slowly. He looked like he was having second thoughts about leaving the warm comfort of the Hogwarts Express. James had long since departed with his group of irritatingly chatty friends. Rose took her cousin's hand, and they got off the train.


	2. Chapter Two : The Sorting Song

**Author's Note: Hello everybody! This is my very first Harry Potter fanfic! I hope you all liked the first chapter, and thank you so much for the favourites, follows, and reviews! Here's Chapter Two! I made up my own song for the Sorting Hat, to make it more authentic. Please share your honest opinions! Thanks! Love, Sammy David.**

The first years stood in the bright, warm Entrance Hall after their journey across the lake with Hagrid, who had given Rose and Albus a knee-buckling clap on the back each before pushing the doors to the Great Hall open to make his way to the Head Table, and sit with the rest of the staff. Old, but still firm on her feet, Professor McGonagall had received them at the Entrance Hall, and given them a stern lecture on the conduct expected of them at Hogwarts, and to wait till she called them into the Great Hall. With her white hair in a tight bun, lines around her mouth that made it look no-nonsense and stern, and emerald-green robes and witch's hat, she made quite an intimidating figure. Most of the first years looked faint. Rose still hadn't let go of Al's hand.

As it always happened when they were out among the wizarding community, Al got stared at. It was partly because he was the son of the legendary Harry Potter, the Chosen One, the one who saved all wizardkind...and partly because he looked EXACTLY like Uncle Harry, with his black hair that stuck out in all directions (a trait he shared with James- both grandfather James and brother James), bright green eyes, and glasses. And most of the staff, some overtly, like Hagrid, and Uncle Neville or "Professor Longbottom" as he was at Hogwarts, made it clear that they knew Al and Rose, either by clapping them on the back in front of all the other first years (Hagrid), or yelling out "Hey Al! Hey Rosie! See you in Herbology tomorrow!" as they jogged towards the Great Hall, struggling out of their travelling cloak and nearly tripping at the same time (Neville). Professor McGonagall, on the other hand, refused to acknowledge them as family friends. She had, however, visited during the holidays, bearing Ginger Newts fresh from Honeydukes in tartan tin boxes. The other first years were nervous about the Sorting, but the passage of Hagrid and Neville had eased the tension somewhat.

Professor McGonagall came back, and led the first years into the Great Hall. Rose had never been in the Great Hall before, but she had heard all about it from her family, and read about it in her mother's old copy of Hogwarts: A History. And the Great Hall more than lived up to her expectations. There were four long House Tables, and a Head Table, where the staff sat. Professor McGonagall, being the Headmistress, had the chair right in the middle. The Hall was strung with draperies representing the four houses- a drapery above each House Table. There were thousands of candles suspended in mid air, and the shimmer of bronze every time the candlelight fell on the cutlery and goblets. The students were all dressed in their uniform black robes, different hair colours topped by pointy black hats.

Professor McGonagall brought out a stool, and perched an ancient, faded, defeated-looking hat on it. Rose stared at it, experiencing a blooming sense of anticlimax. _This_ was the famous Sorting Hat? That had Sorted more than a thousand years' worth of Hogwarts students? As if in response to her thoughts, the Sorting Hat opened near the brim, and began to sing:

 _"A new year begins, and new students we welcome_

 _Now for the question you've had regarding the hour to come:_

 _Which House will call you its own?_

 _There'sGryffindor-the Lions in battle, whose bravery is known_

 _Bold and fierce, Gryffindors are like rubies red_

 _In the the crown on Hogwarts' head!_

 _There'sHufflepuff-for the kind and just_

 _The fair of soul, for whom loyalty is a must_

 _Faithful and hardworking, the Badgers will never let you down!_

 _There's Ravenclaw, who are wisdom's own_

 _In practicality and strategy, the Eagles never fail_

 _Be it sun or snow or hail!_

 _And last comes Slytherin, the Serpent_

 _You know you're something if their hand you're lent_

 _Tread wisely around these folks_

 _Or saddled you shall be with Revenge's yokes!_

 _Are you still scared? Never fear!_

 _Your time of Sorting is now here."_


	3. Chapter Three : Anticlimax

Applause and whooping (from somewhere suspiciously close to where James and his friends were sitting) received the Sorting Hat's song. Rose was feeling slightly faint. Her hands were clammy, and she wished the Sorting would get over quickly, and she would be able to put all the stress of being Sorted behind her. She barely registered the names Professor McGonagall was calling out - she only focussed when she heard a familiar name. Macmillan, Ruby, Ernie Macmillan's daughter, was sorted into Hufflepuff, which was expected. Each House whooped and whistled when a new first year was added to their ranks. There was a slight hush in the noisy Hall when Professor McGonagall called out, "Malfoy, Scorpius." Not everybody was too fond of the controversial Malfoy family, who had a history of being for or against Lord Voldemort, the Dark wizard who had terrorized the wizarding world for more than twenty years, before Uncle Harry defeated him in the Battle of Hogwarts in 1998. The entire Malfoy family had been in Slytherin, and PRIDED themselves on having a family history of being pureblood Slytherins, so it came as a huge shock to everyone in the Great Hall, when the Sorting Hat rested on Scorpius's platinum blond head for barely a second, before it proclaimed, "GRYFFINDOR!"

There was dead silence in the Great Hall. The Gryffindors were too shocked by the Sorting to give the newcomer their usual boisterous welcome. Even Professor McGonagall was so bewildered that she forgot to take the Sorting Hat off Scorpius's head, and seemed to recover herself only when he pulled it off himself and handed it to her, jumping off the stool and walking towards the Gryffindor table. It was only then that it seemed to dawn on the Great Hall that for the very first time, a Malfoy had been Sorted into Gryffindor, and a buzz of conversation and stares at the furiously blushing Scorpius ensued, till Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and called out the next name.

Rose was so shocked that she had let go of Al's hand. She knew that her parents and Uncle Harry had been bitter rivals with Draco Malfoy at Hogwarts, and Granddad Weasley with Lucius Malfoy at the Ministry, and she'd always had the impression that the Malfoys were rather...slimy. "There must be a mistake!" she whispered to Al, her eyes wide. He shrugged, to her surprise. "The Sorting Hat can't make mistakes. What if it puts someone from a Gryffindor family into Slytherin? It could happen..." he trailed off, looking slightly green. Rose was so busy gaping at him that she got a start when Professor McGonagall called out, "Potter, Albus!" Rose noticed that several members of the staff smiled at his name. Al looked ready to fall off the stool in a dead faint, but he regained his energy when the Sorting Hat, after just grazing his head, yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!" Rose screamed and cheered for Al as he got off the shaky legs and shot her a relieved grin. The Gryffindors were giving him their loudest welcome yet. Rose noticed Scorpius looking curiously at Al, and she narrowed her eyes. Al, however, didn't notice. He sat with James and his rowdy friends, and watched the rest of the Sorting with a big grin on his face.

Half an hour later, Rose was the solitary first year left to be Sorted. Professor McGonagall called out, "Weasley, Rose!", and Rose could feel everybody's eyes in the Hall boring into her. She kept her eyes on the floor as she walked towards the stool. Professor McGonagall dropped the Hat lightly onto Rose's flaming red hair, the same colour as her face before it half vanished under the Hat. She heard a nastily nasal voice in her head (or was it around her head?) say, as she stared at the blackness of the Hat's underside, " _Oh, no doubt about this one!"_ And then the Sorting Hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"


	4. Chapter Four : Gossip and Gryffindor

**Author's Note: Hello, faithful fans! Alright, that sounded a bit high handed, sorry. Anyway, I'm really sorry for the delay in posting new chapters. I've been having my finals going on. My last paper for this semester is tomorrow, and it's a paper nobody cares about, so my studies are unofficially over. So, I'm back on the fan fiction circuit! Here's Chapter Four : Gossip and Gryffindor. Hope it makes up for the long-ish break!**

Rose and the rest of the new Gryffindors spent most of the meal talking and getting to know each other. Well, except for Scorpius. Most people seemed to be taking his Malfoy ancestry seriously, and trying not to actively involve him in the conversation. He didn't seem to care, either. He kept his eyes on the scrumptious meal appearing on the table, course by course, and kept his slightly turned up nose in the air. Of course, it took the new Gryffindors-emboldened by the comfort of having been Sorted into the House of their choice-no time at all to write him off as a snob.

Rose and Al were munching their way through mashed potatoes, peas, and juicy slivers of ham when James said, diverting the topic of conversation from Quidditch, "I think it's time they made a new Sorting Hat. This one's beginning to malfunction. It put a Malfoy in Gryffindor!" The table was extremely noisy, so Scorpius, sitting many places away, didn't hear. But the rest of the Gryffindors nodded and made "hmm"ing noises in agreement through mouthfuls of mashed potato. "I don't think it's so weird," said Albus unexpectedly, "Uncle Sirius came from an all-Slytherin family, but he got into Gryffindor, didn't he?" "But that's different!" exclaimed James, looking scandalised, "Uncle Sirius was...more Gryffindor than old Godric himself!" A few of James's gormless mates chuckled at this statement. Clearly, they played Follow-the-Leader. But Al didn't. "Maybe Scorpius is, too." he said softly, glancing at the boy sitting in the middle of a crowded table, but still all alone. James narrowed his eyes, and Rose had a nasty feeling Al would get a reaming-out later. James was famous for his temper. And his opinions. However, James changed the topic. "So, young Rosie. Are you ready to take over the mantle from our dear Cousin Victoire?" "What mantle?" asked Rose, glancing at where blonde, pale, sharp-featured Victoire sat with her girlfriends further down the Gryffindor table, "Head Girl?" James rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. His mates chuckled. "No, my little first year. You can become Head Girl only in your seventh year," he said slowly, exaggerating his mock-sweet tone, "I'm talking about the mantle of Hogwarts's Most Desired Girl." "Don't be stupid," said Rose dismissively, blushing almost as red as her hair. "Oh sweetheart, you may have Aunt Hermione's brains, but you're also Ginny Potter's niece. Don't forget that." he winked. "Riiiight." said Rose sarcastically, rolling her eyes. Aunt Ginny had been quite the heartbreaker while at Hogwarts, they'd heard. She'd also been voted no. 1 on Witch Weekly's Britain's Most Beautiful Sportswomen list for three consecutive years back when she still played with the Holyhead Harpies. But since this particular prediction was coming from James, Rose didn't take him too seriously.


	5. Chapter Five : House Mates

Rose was having a whale of a time in Gryffindor house. She'd never been to school before, she'd been homeschooled by her mum. Hermione and Harry had homeschooled both her and Harry and Ginny's children in Muggle subjects since they were little children. Basic English, Maths, Science. Nobody really _liked_ Maths and Science, and didn't see how'd it be useful in real life, but their parents didn't want them wasting their time till they were Hogwarts age. English was fun, though. But what was _more_ fun was getting their Hogwarts letters, and being told by their parents that they no longer needed to study Muggle subjects, because they'd be learning magic. How Rose and Al had smirked, thinking of Lily and Hugo, with two more years of Muggle education ahead if them.

Since Professor McGonagall was the Headmistress, she was no longer the Head of Gryffindor House as she had been in their parents' time. The new Head of Gryffindor House was Neville Longbottom. He was probably the most fun Head Gryffindor House had seen since, well, Dumbledore. Quidditch victories, Prefect appointments, Head Boy and Girl appointments, and House Cup victories, according to James, were celebrated with an enormous homemade spread, courtesy Hannah Longbottom, neé Abbot. Her culinary skills as the new owner of the Leaky Cauldron were legendary. And Neville was also the unofficial Agony Aunt of all of Gryffindor House. Just the other day, Rose had seen him sitting in the common room, telling a tall, blond sixth-year to "Just ask her out, because that's how it worked with me and Hannah."

Everybody seemed to settle into routine and form cliques pretty quickly at Hogwarts. Rose had a little clique of her own, soon enough, consisting of herself, Al, and Ruby Macmillan. If Rose wasn't mistaken, Al had begun to develop a tiny crush on Ruby. The Potters and the Weasleys had known the Macmillans all their lives, and Ruby had been a regular playmate at Christmas and New Year parties, weddings, and birthdays. But after coming to Hogwarts, they'd gotten closer to her. Their association earlier had always been of the family friend variety, but now, they were getting to know her better for herself, not as Uncle Ernie's daughter. The very first Herbology lesson had brought them close.

Neville had wanted them to split into threes to work on some strange levitating plant that was supposed to be the staple diet of witches in South Korea, as it was very good for the skin. It vaguely resembled aloe vera, but the juice it squirted out of its thick leaves was purple. When added to milk, stirred, and drunk, the juice made your skin flawless. It tasted nasty, though. According to Neville, it was the most stolen plant at Hogwarts, and the perpetrators were usually girls from the third year to the seventh year, and some boys, too. Which was why the plant was kept under enchanted lock and key in the greenhouses, because it wasn't indigenous to Britain, and was hard to get a hold of. Neville had specially ordered a consignment from South Korea for the first years. Rose, Al, and Ruby had banded together to work on the levitating aloe vera because in the whole Gryffinfor-and-Hufflepuff first year Herbology batch, they knew each other the best. And Ruby had turned out to be quite sweet, and she also had a wicked sense of humour. She was instant friend material. The three had bonded together like glue, especially after Ruby accidentally squeezed the levitating aloe vera too hard, plastering the back of Scorpius "Snobbius" Malfoy's head with purple goop. Things like purple plant extract and enormous trolls in bathrooms seem to be key ingredients in cementing friendships.


	6. Chapter Six : Tall, Blond, and Handsome

After years of dull Muggle education, Rose was finding her Hogwarts subjects amazing. Her hand was the first to fly up whenever a professor asked a question, leading to several dry remarks from them about how much she was like her mother. Having been bombarded with (what sounded like suspiciously exaggerated) tales of what a swotter Hermione had been in school by Ron, Harry, Ginny, and basically everybody they knew, Rose would turn red and All would snicker. Rose soon found that she wasn't good at _everything._ Professor Wood (who was always trailed by a string of admirers, who'd heard of his glory on the pitch when he played for Puddlemere United) had had to spend half an hour calming her down after her broomstick got stuck in a turret during Quidditch lessons. With her on it. He'd flown up on his own broomstick and pulled her onto it (with some difficulty, because she was so scared of falling that she refused to let go of the stuck broomstick), and then landed her on a safe patch of grass near Harris's hut (Hagrid had very kindly provided her with chocolate and mugs of hot coffee to stop her shivering), and talked to her till she calmed down. He'd offered to send her to the Hospital Wing where his wife Katie Wood neé Bell (also an ex Quidditch player, and still very good at her game) worked, but Rose declined, mortified of being teased. Needless to say, teasing DID happen. Al, as soon as he made sure Rose wasn't physically harmed in any way, made it a point to tell her to "go climb a turret" or "go ride a broom" Everytime they disagreed on something or squabbled. And James, of course, had thanked her from the bottom of his heart for zooming, screaming, past the window where Professor Binns was taking an abysmally boring History of Magic class for him, and for then riding past their window again, clutching Professor Wood around the waist. Hermione had written, anxious and concerned, tut-tutting about the lack of safety of the old school broomsticks, but Ron had been horrified, and had written a very firm letter saying that he'd coach her personally when she got home for the holidays. All in all, it had been a mortifying experience.

However, her days of embarrassing experiences weren't over. Ex reporter Rita Skeeter had recently released an unauthorized biography of Gilderoy Lockhart, who had been very famous, till he'd been exposed as a fraud. He was currently ageing slowly at St. Mungo's, with only a very vague idea of who he was, and a penchant for autographing anything that stood still long enough. Hermione had always been irritated by Skeeter's various attempts at biographies (The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore, 'Krum'pled Destiny, and Harry Potter : Chosen One or Frozen Pawn? to name a few), but they were always highly publicized, and The Daily Prophet had been advertising Gilderoy Lockhart : Tall, Blond, and Handsome, or Just Plain Loathsome? for a while now. This led to a heated discussion between Ruby and Rose about what _their_ biographies (if any) would be named. "Yours would be Red, Red Rose," said Ruby, "Because you're always getting into embarrassing situations, and you blush easily. And also, you're a redhead." Rose blushed. " _Yours_ would probably be 'Badger'ing the Lion," retorted Rose, "Because you're a Hufflepuff, but you spend so much time at the Gryffindor table before and after meals." "James's would probably be How _Not_ to Impress Girls!" grinned Al, looking over at where James was obsessively rumpling up his hair and casting sidelong glances at some of Victoire's pretty friends. "What would Malfoy's be?" whispered Ruby, looking at Scorpius a few places down the table, getting up after ending his meal alone, as usual. "Malfoy is easy," bragged Rose, "He's Tall, Blond, and Handsome!" "Shhhh!" hissed Al, and Rose and Ruby looked up to see Scorpius staring at Rose, his ears red. He'd been walking past them on the way out of the Great Hall. Rose felt the usual blush touching the roots of her red hair, and Ruby coughed up the pumpkin juice she'd been sipping out of Rose's goblet right across Gryffindor table, into the plate of a very disgusted second year.


End file.
